The Half of Us, The Least of You, The Best of Me
by musicalnerd187
Summary: What happens when you find the one you're meant to be with, but you don't think you're good enough for them? A Fanfic about T&G meeting at boarding school & striving to be perfect for eachother. Follow them through the ups and downs of high school & love.
1. Here Goes Nothing

**A/N: Alright well I've been reading FF for a really long time but never really got around to writing one myself, so I figured it's about time! I used to do videos of a story on YouTube but it just got to be too time consuming. I can type quickly this way so it'll take less time : ). So here's the first story attempt, play nice please! Honestly, any feedback at all would be SO appreciated.**

**The Half of Us, The Least of You, The Best of Me**

She couldn't believe this was happening. AGAIN. Here she was, new year, new school. Not only was everyone and everything completely foreign to her, but there was no escaping it. She was now enrolled as a student at East Academy Prep, a boarding school filled with the children of the rich and famous from all over the states. She took a deep breath as the limo rolled up in front of her "new home" as her mother liked to call it.

"Oh come on Gabi," her mother said, pulling her out of her reverie, "I thought this is what you wanted. You know that the company can't promise to keep me in the same place until you graduate. At least this way you won't have to switch schools again."

"Yes _mamá,_ this is exactly what I want. To be separated from you, the only constant in my life." She mumbled as she turned back to the window, her mother oblivious to what she had said.

"Alright _querido_, it's now or never. I have a flight to catch so unfortunately I can't help you settle. I called the school ahead of time though and they said they'd send some boys down to help carry your stuff. In fact that's probably them waiting over there. You understand right?"

"Of course Ma," Gabriella lied, "I'll call you in a few days. I love you"

"I love you too Gabi, and don't be a stranger. I'm only ever a phone call away."

"Yeah, _only."_ Gabriella thought, mentally rolling her eyes. She smoothed the hem of her white sundress, slipped on her aviators **(A/N pictures in profile)** and ran her fingers through her long wavy hair; mentally and physically preparing herself for what was waiting for her once she slid out the limo door.

"Well," She thought, "Here goes nothing."

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Troy was annoyed. In fact, he was more than annoyed. He was pretty fucking pissed off. Why did he have to help lug stuff around for some new chick? Head Master Matsui had come and interrupted his game of pick up ball with Jason, Zeke and Chad, telling Troy and Chad he had a "special job" for them. Troy rolled his eyes.

"I should have known to run as soon as he started coming towards us." He thought to himself.

As Troy looked around him he couldn't help but smile a little to himself. He wasn't sure he would ever really get used to the attention he got. Girls lusted after him; guys envied him and wanted to be his best friend. Of course, his real best friend, Chad, was oblivious to the looks of jealousy thrown his way. He just sauntered along gabbing on about God knows what, as per usual.

"Dude? DUDE?! I'm talking to you ya know?" Chad snapped, bring Troy back to reality.

"Wha? Oh sorry. What did you say bud?"

"I SAID, do you reckon that's her car? Matsui said her limo arrived didn't he?"

"Uh yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see who comes out. This is so messed up though. Why do we have to carry her stuff for her?"

"Whatever dude, suck it up. It'll give you a chance to show off your muscles to the entire female population of the school. Not that they don't already fawn over you too much anyways"

"Shut up Chad." Troy said, flipping his dark brown hair out of his eyes so he could glare at his friend.

Chad quickly fell silent. Both boys turned back to the car in anticipation just as the door opened. In that moment Troy could have sworn everything around him started to move in slow motion. First a red shoe (**A/N pictures in profile)**, followed by a long, toned and tanned leg. Troy couldn't help but feel anxious, it felt like was taking forever for her to fully reveal herself. Finally the owner of this beautiful leg fully slid into view turning her back to him as she said something to whoever was still in the car.

"Dude..." Chad said quietly reminding Troy where he was "She is..."

"Shut up Chad." Troy demanded, stopping his friend from finishing that thought. He really didn't want to know what Chad thought of this girl. It was pretty obvious; how anyone could not feel intoxicated by her beauty was beyond him. Suddenly Troy straightened and pretended to be busy doing something on his phone, realizing she was walking towards them and he was quite blatantly staring at her. He allowed himself one quick look up again, just to catch a glimpse of her long wavy hair flowing behind her and her swaying hips as she walked. His breath caught in his throat as she arrived in front of him. She slid her sunglasses on top of her head revealing a pair of deep chocolate hewed eyes, displaying her stunningly white teeth in a dazzling smile.

"Hi. I'm Gabriella." She said offering her hand to Chad, who obviously shook her hand a little too hard because Troy could see her wince. She then turned to him, doing the same. However Troy couldn't move, mentally kicking himself for being such a loser. She slowly retracted her hand, her smile faltering replaced by a look of confusion as she looked back and forth between the two boys.

"Ummmm, this is Troy, and I'm Chad. You're new here right? The Head Master sent us over to help carry your stuff."

"Oh. Great. In the car. Room 423, Leonard House." She said as she turned to walk away.

"4-, 423?" Troy finally stammered, regaining his composure. "Isn't that Taylors room?"

"Oh yeah bro!" Chad said. Honestly, Troy couldn't believe that he recognized the number before his friend did. He was honestly so dense sometimes.

"Who's...who's Taylor?" Gabriella asked curiously, turning towards Troy who suddenly tensed up again when he realized her gaze was on him again.

"She's my girlfriend, she's amazing. You'll love her." Chad said, butting in but all the while rescuing Troy. Something about her made it impossible for him to talk. He had known this girl all of 3 minutes and he already felt seriously vulnerable. With that the 3 of them were off towards Leonard House, with Chad chattering away to Gabriella about Taylor as Troy fell silently behind, never taking his eyes off of the exquisite girl walked ahead of him.

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Over the next few hours Troy and Chad stayed in the girls room, helping Gabriella unpack. Just as Chad predicted the two girls hit it off right away and were now lying on their stomachs on Gabriella's bed flipping through magazines and giggling while the boys finished putting together Gabriella's new bookshelf.

"Bro," Chad said quietly, leaning over to Troy so that the girls wouldn't here "She is...F-I-N-E. Like seriously hot."

"Chad, quit it." Troy said, obviously annoyed with the choice of conversation topic, however Chad didn't quite pick up on that. Surprise, surprise.

"Honestly dude, that girl is smoking. Look...look at hers legs.

"You know Chad, I really don't think you should be saying this. ESPECIALLY with your girlfriend in the room."

"Hey, I'm a faithful guy. I would never stray from my little Taylor Schnukums" Troy had to fight the urge to vomit when Chad said this.

"Yeah, whatever Chad."

"Just because I can't touch doesn't mean I can't look. And hell, that is some good looking. I mean look at that little dress she is wearing...God I hope she dresses like that every day."

Troy felt an odd sense of anger and loathing growing within him knowing that Chad was looking at Gabriella that way. Finally Troy had had enough of this conversation and smacked Chad on the back of the head. The noise caught the girls' attention as they looked up in confusion. Just then Chad's stomach let out a thunderous growl, indicating that it had been to long since his last feeding. The other three looked at him for a minute and then burst out laughing. Troy could have sworn Gabriella's laugh was the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard.

"Guys it's not funny! I'm starving! Can we please, please, PLEASE go get some eats?"

"Alright Chad, let's go before you start whimpering like a lost puppy." Taylor said as she jumped off the bed to grab Chad's' hand. As the two were walking out the room Gabriella hopped up to follow. Just as she was about to walk out the door, Troy grabbed her wrist spinning him towards her. She gasped in surprise and looked up at him. Finally REALLY looking at him for the first time, Gabriella saw just how amazing looking he really was. She had of course noticed as soon as she stepped out of the car, but now that she truly looks she sees that the way his eyes sparkle and the intense blue of them makes them look like an ocean. And the way his hair falls on his face accentuates his manly features and sturdy jaw line. Plus, being crushed up against him as she is no w she can feel how muscular and toned he is, matched with the golden of his skin conjures up images of Greek Gods in her head.

Having her so close to him, Troy swore he could feel sparks between the two of them. For a moment while she searched his eyes he almost lost control and kissed her. But he knew he couldn't. That would just scare her off. Plus he had to remember the reason why he had stopped her in the first place, to doing something about the fact that he knew that if he had to sit through a whole meal of guys looking at her like Chad was, he was fairly sure he would punch something...or ever worse someone. Which of course he couldn't have happen, that would get him kicked off the team. Before Troy could figure out what exactly to say, Gabriella broke the silence first.

"Why don't you talk? Are you shy or something? I'm sorry...that was rude. It's just...I'm trying to figure you out." Troy chuckled to himself. The thought of him, Troy Bolton, being shy was rather comical. Little did she know that he pretty much ran this school. At least the social aspect of it anyways. Troy leaned in even closer, causing Gabriella's breath to hitch.

"You know, you should really put more clothes on. You wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea." Troy whispered in a low and husky voice into her ear. Gabriella jerked away and glared at him, seething.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" She asked with more than a little bit of a hint of venom in her voice. "You know what? Never mind. I liked it better when you knew how to keep your mouth shut." And with that she turned on her heel, only to pause again in the door frame to look back at him.

"Gabriella I-"Troy tried.

"No. You better think twice before you ever utter another fucking word to me again Troy Bolton." She spat at him before storming off, leaving him standing stunned alone in her room.

"Shit." Troy said to himself. "That REALLY did not go as planned...I'm screwed."

**A/N: So there it is! PLEASE review. Honestly, if I'm going to do this whole FanFic thing I want to make sure I'm doing it right.**

**Thanks guys **

**xox Em**


	2. Thunderstorms & Lucky Troy

**A/N:** I'm sorry it's taken me so much longer to get this up than I thought it would. Its finals time for me so school work has been taking over my life. After Thursday I have plenty of time off to get some good writing done. This chapter is based on one of my own personal experiences, so hopefully you guys like it and think it's just as suited for Troyella as I did. Thanks for reading, and once again please PLEASE review. xo Em.

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_**Chapter Two: Thunderstorms and Lucky Troy.**_

Over the next few weeks Gabriella worked at adjusting to life at East Academy Prep, finding that the people there were VERY different from the other schools she went to. She also found herself focusing a lot of her attention on avoiding Troy, something that turned out to be harder than she thought. It seemed like Troy was everywhere, involved with every aspect of the school. Plus it didn't help that his best friend was dating her new best friend and roommate. Whenever he was around her thought, she kept catching herself stealing glances at him. What she found odd was that whenever she did her chocolate brown eyes were always met by his steely blue ones.

"Hey, what do you think of this one?" Taylor called from her closet, stepping out to reveal a blue satin dress with thick straps and a bow in the back that fell right above the knee **(A/N pictures in profile)**. She had a date with Chad tonight to celebrate their anniversary and was trying to pick out an outfit.

"Oh Tay. It's perfect. You look gorgeous. Chad won't be able to keep his hands off you."

"Really? Aw thanks Gabs. What do you think, the Dolce & Gabbana silver sandals?"

"You'll look flawless. Honestly."

"So what are you going to do tonight while I'm out?"

"Um I don't know. I'll probably give my mom and a few friends from home a call. Plus that new movie Twilight **(A/N I LOVE Twilight haha)** is playing at the campus movie theatre. I could always go see that."

"That sounds like a good idea. You know you should call Troy, I'm sure he'd go see it with you."

"Uh no. I'll be just fine thanks." Gabriella said, tensing up at just the sound of his name, not going unnoticed by Taylor.

"Girl, what is up with you? What have you got against Troy? I've seen the way you look at him, and don't even try to deny it. So why are you so cold to him?"

"Ha, are you kidding me? That boy is just...he's so...GAH!"

"So good looking?"

"Well yes...not to mention also rude, offensive, disrespectful..."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Slow it down. What do you mean? Troy is a GREAT guy. I mean sure he acts a little different around you than he normally does, but that's just because you're probably the first girl he's met who doesn't go weak in the knees at just the mere sight of him."

Gabriella couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Yeah, I guess he is pretty cute. That doesn't make up for his asshole tendencies though."

"I knew it! You DO think he's hot. I'm so calling Chad and getting him to set you two up. Girl, this is perfect. Troy is obviously smitten by you. We can go on double dates!"

"Back up. I never agreed to this. I may think that Troy Bolton is...a little bit more than decent looking. That doesn't mean I want to date him. In fact, I want absolutely nothing to do with him. End of story."

"Fine, ruin my fun."

"I'm sorry Tay, but that's just never EVER going to happen. Hey, weren't you supposed to be Chad outside at 6? Cause its 6:10 right now."

"Shit! Okay I'm going. Bye Gabs, love you. Have fun tonight, and whatever you do, don't wait up" Taylor called slyly as she ran out the door.

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Troy was lying on his bed, trying to get through his history reading but finding himself getting distracted by the thunder storm outside that was growing louder and louder with each passing minute. He was so deep in thought looking out his window that it took him awhile to actually hear his phone ringing. He leaned over and grabbed it off the desk, taking a second to look at the caller display which read _Unknown Caller_ before he flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"_Troy. Hi. It's um, Gabriella. Taylor left her phone here and I got your number out of her phone. I hope you don't mind."_

"Uh no, not at all." He stammered while thinking to himself bewilderedly "Why on earth is she calling me? She doesn't even acknowledge me in person. Oh well, at least now I have her number without having to ask her for it and risk being shut down."

"_Listen, I wouldn't be calling you if I had anyone else, but I'm new here and Tay is out with Chad and well..."_

"It's okay; you're rescuing me from my homework anyways. What's up?"

"_Okay well this is kind of embarrassing, and I'll completely deny it if you bring it up later, but I'm terrified of thunder storms. Do you there is any way you could come over or that we could go somewhere? I just really don't want to be alone right now."_

"Um ya. Sure. Why don't we go see a movie or something? Twilight is playing on campus, and aren't all girls in love with that movie or something? That should help keep you distracted. Do you want to meet me there at 7?"

"_That sounds perfect. Thanks Troy, you're honestly a life saver. I owe you one." _And with that she hung up. "Wow," Troy thought to himself "I really didn't see that one coming. Well, my night just got about 10 times better." He looked down at his watch and saw that he had just enough time to have a shower before having to leave.

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Troy arrived at the theatre just minutes before Gabriella did. As she walked through the doors, the sight of her in a pair of Ed Hardy sweatpants, Ugg boots and a plain tank top **(A/N pictures in profile)** forced a huge grin onto his face. Even in sweat pants with her long wavy hair thrown up into a tangled pony tail, she still looked like the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"Hi." Gabriella greeted him awkwardly, taking in the sight of Troy in a pair of dark wash jeans, a white v-neck shirt and navy cardigan **(A/N pictures in profile)**. "Sorry I'm late; I got a little lost on my way here. Apparently I still don't really know my way around campus."

"Not to worry. It's a big place, you'll get used to it eventually. I got us our tickets already."

"Oh. Uh thanks Troy. You really didn't have to do that, I could have paid for myself."

"I know. But I wanted to."

The pair continued to make awkward small talk as they walked over and joined the concessions stand line, where Troy once again refused to let Gabriella pay.

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After the movie, and after much persuasion, Gabriella had agreed to let Troy walk her home. The two evidently felt more comfortable around each other and were having a very animated conversation about life at school while they walked. Troy didn't really enjoy the movie himself; it just wasn't his type of thing. He did however enjoy watching Gabriella as she evidently enjoyed the movie. As they were walking, a large group of students came from the other direction, forcing Troy and Gabriella to walk closer together on the sidewalk in order to let them pass. Troy bravely took this opportunity to sling his arm casually over her shoulders. Needless to say, Gabriella didn't protest, although she did look up at him with curious eyes which he responded to with a carefree shrug. Once they finally arrived back at her residence, Troy waited with her outside while she looked for her keys.

"Shit. I must have left them in my room. Let me just call Taylor, she's going to kill me for interrupting her date."

"So don't. Just come back to my place. You can stay the night. That was if the storm comes back you don't have to be scared and alone again. Besides, Chad and Taylor won't be coming back to campus tonight. Chad got a room at one of the hotels as a surprise anniversary present."

"Well, I guess I don't really have much choice then." Gabriella said, with a little hint of annoyance in her voice. She had really been looking forward to just climbing in her bed and figure out what exactly her feelings towards Troy were.

"Exactly. So let's go." Troy couldn't help but smile at the prospect of waking up with this beautiful girl next to him. "My luck just keeps getting better and better" Troy thought to himself.

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"Here, you can wear these to bed." Troy said tossing Gabriella a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. "You can change in here. I'm going to go into the bathroom." When he returned he found Gabriella changed and sitting on Chad's bed. When she heard him enter the room, Gabriella looked up to see Troy with an odd expression on his face.

"What?" She inquired gently.

"Nothing." Troy said with a subtle shake of his head. "It's just...well, I really wouldn't suggest sleeping in Chad's bed. I honestly couldn't say the last time he washed his sheets and ever since he and Taylor became official they've been having A LOT of sex."

"EW!" Gabriella squealed as she jumped off the bed. Troy couldn't help but chuckle. She just looked so adorable, especially since she was wearing HIS clothes. God, he was one lucky bastard.

"You can sleep in my bed with me. Don't worry, I promise I won't bite. There is plenty of room for both of us without us having to even touch."

Gabriella hesitantly agreed, and both of them climbed into bed. It wasn't long before both had fallen into a deep slumber, with Troy lying on one side of the bed and Gabriella lying on the complete opposite. The peacefulness only lasted for a few hours though, as Gabriella was woken up around 3 A.M. by a loud crack of thunder. Her body reacted before her brain could and she curled her tiny body up against Troy's larger muscular one. Her sudden movement woke Troy up, and he smiled looking down at her, noting how perfectly her body fit next to his. Gabriella felt him stir and suddenly felt embarrassed, rolling away from him.

"I'm sorry, it's just the storm came back. It startled me a little. I didn't mean to wake you up." Gabriella spoke softly, and Troy could see the fear in her eyes. What he couldn't deceiver was whether it was only from the storm, or whether she was afraid at having being caught too close to him.

"Shhh, it's alright Brie. I'll protect you." And with that, Troy wrapped a strong arm around her tiny waist, pulling her back towards him.

"Brie?" She asked quietly, feeling sleep taking over her body again.

"Ya, Brie." Troy said, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head before falling asleep again.

**A/N: **Thanks for reading guys. I love you all for it.


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